Local Priorities Business crime Message

I wanted to provide you with an update regarding Business crime, which people around your area have highlighted as an issue of concern on the priority survey.

As part of Operation Lapland, officers from the South Northamptonshire Neighbourhood Policing Team have been visiting a number of businesses in the community. Yesterday PC Carter and PCSO Charlotte Morris visited Bell Plantation Garden Centre in Towcester, today PCSO Chris Dudley and PCSO Matt Taylor visited Roman Way Garden Centre in Potterspury. Matt even had an opportunity to meet Santa himself, prior to his journey to the Lapland to start his delivery run on Christmas Eve night.

Business crime has a wider impact than is often considered, particularly for small businesses and the wider local community.

A study of crimes experienced by small businesses from January 2021 to January 2023, highlighted some stark statistics.

• Fraud is now the most common crime in the UK, costing £7 billion a year. Worryingly, incidents of small business cybercrime have more than tripled, and accounts for 41 per cent of offences in England and Wales.
• 11% of businesses surveyed said that vandalism had cost them £10,000 or more in the last two years.
• Shoplifting is on the rise, with a variety of reports indicating increases of 22% in the lowest report, to 29% in the highest. Assaults on staff are also on the rise.

Every business should have crime prevention as a key risk and also as a priority. There are generally four main areas of risk to consider as a business:

• People. 
• Premises. 
• Data (physical and digital). 
• Equipment. 

The National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) has created specific crime prevention guidance for businesses and has collated useful information from partner agencies to help businesses owners better protect themselves from physical and digital crime.

If you ever experience this issue or have information regarding an incident, please report it using our online reporting tools at www.northants.police.uk, speak to an operator in our Force Communications Room via our online web chat or call the non-emergency number 101. 

Alternatively, you can stay 100 per cent anonymous by contacting the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via their untraceable online form at crimestoppers-uk.org.

Get Involved

Please consider getting involved and contribute to the local priority survey, we may be unaware of issues that you would like us to focus on.  Take a few minutes to securely and privately register and have your say using the button below, this will mean we can focus on things that matter to you. 

Please click here to complete the survey